WESTFIELD -- Old really never goes out of style, and offensive linemen Matt Slauson and Austin Howard are proof with the Colts.

The veterans have made it their mission to not just bolster the right side to protect Andrew Luck this season but usher in the new with their professorial treatment of their potential replacements.

Rookies Braden Smith and Quenton Nelson, both 22, are among those receiving an advanced football education from Slauson (32) and Howard (31).

"I’ve been really impressed with the group. Not only are there a lot of young, extremely talented guys physically, but the intellectual side of things, it’s a very advanced group," said Slauson, who is expected to start at right guard in his first season with the Colts. "Usually when rookies come in, a lot of times it takes a little while to start building those instincts. Things start moving, blitzes start happening, twists start coming. It’s hard to react properly because of your instincts. These guys already got it. Braden Smith’s got it. Quenton’s got it."

A team captain with the L.A. Chargers, he was limited to seven games because of a biceps injury last season. Slauson played mostly on the left side there and has started 108 of the 111 games that he has played in for his 10-year career.

Howard had a different path to longevity in the league compared with Slauson, who was a sixth-round draft choice. He went undrafted out of Northern Iowa eight years ago, bounced around practice squads and landed with the N.Y. Jets. He started every game for them at right tackle in 2012 and '13 before going to the Oakland Raiders where injuries derailed him. After a slow start with the Baltimore Ravens last season, Howard rounded into form.

"As an older guy you get a better sense of what you need to do physically, mentally and how important training camp is and how important each and every rep is," Howard said. "Training camp is a grind. There’s no easy way out. You got to work, work, work."

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That's not just conditioning but being diligent about pre-emptive treatment and rehabilitation when necessary. All of it eats up time. Younger players have to dedicate themselves to the process no matter how monotonous it becomes.

"Before, if practice is at 9 in the morning, I could wake up at 8. I’d be good to go. Now it’s more like I get going around 6:30," Howard said. "You get your body warm, get right. It’s just the little things that matter. That came from me learning from older guys before me. You carry that on. Hopefully I can show the younger guys behind me how to prepare for years in the NFL."

It sounds like a tricky balance for veterans. They want to retain their positions as starters but are tasked with thinking about their team's future and beyond themselves.

A lot can transpire during a season that can change the outlook for better or worse.

"We’ve all had guys who helped us out through our careers. Older guys. This is a day-to-day league. It’s the right thing to do," Howard said. "We win this thing as a group. Not as individuals. Say a starter goes down, everybody has to be ready. If there’s anything that me or an older guy can pass on to a younger guy, we always make sure to do that -- especially on the offensive line. That’s just the way we work."

Luck's health is an obvious priority. The running game tends to be as good as the blocking up front for it.

Then there's the attitude to set the tone for the entire offense. That comes from those guys up front as well.

"I pride myself in being a part of the old ways, the pre-CBA days. I stepped into a room, way back in 2009 with the New York Jets, where that line was incredible, and nasty, and ferocious," Slauson said. "So, being affected by those guys really helped me. Now, all I’m trying to do is the same thing. The professionalism, the nastiness, that old-world offensive line play."

That'll be welcomed by Luck, who rates high on Howard's list of NFL quarterbacks.

"Without a doubt he’s probably the best quarterback in the league. If not the best, one of the best. He’s a true leader," Howard said. "He knows how to communicate. He knows how to get guys excited and to go out there and play as a unit. That’s a talent. That’s a gift that he has. It’s great to be with a guy like that, to be able to block for a guy like that."

Ideally, he hopes to help re-establish the Colts and win with a guy like that, too.